The 2017 NBA Finals appear to be a classic case of David vs Goliath. The reigning champions from Oklahoma City, led by two-time reigning league MVP Kevin Durant and fellow superstar Russell Westbrook, will be out to defend their title and end the fairy-tale run of the Philadelphia 76ers. It won't be an easy task though as the Sixers are an extremely well-organised unit and don't rely on one or two star players to win games.

The Thunder swept Miami in the 2016 Finals and continued that impressive form into this season, eventually finishing with a league-best 63 wins. They deservedly go into this series as heavy favourites, mainly due to the fact that they have a significant advantage in both playoff experience and talent. Having home-court advantage is also a major reason why most fans believe that they will go back-to-back.

Philadelphia didn't make it this far by riding their luck though. They are a well-coached group who know exactly what their strengths are and how to play to them effectively and efficiently. You could even argue that they have a deeper bench than Oklahoma City as well. The likes of Devin Booker, Dario Saric, Andre Iguodala and Tony Wroten have all in great form during their playoff run so far and could be key to their hopes of winning this series.

It should be an fascinating series as it pits the best offensive team from this season against the third best defensive team. The Sixers will be relying on big men Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel to protect the paint and limit Oklahoma City's inside scoring. On the other end, the Thunder will be without Steven Adams as he is expected to miss the entire series due to a thigh injury. Philadelphia will surely try to exploit Enes Kanter's weakness on the defensive end all series long.

Just over eleven months ago Brandon Ingram was sitting inside the green room of the Barclays Center alongside the other top prospects from his draft class. He entered the night with hopes of being a top three pick, but eventually fell down to the eighth selection. Moments after being picked by the Sixers, a visibly emotional Ingram was interviewed by ESPN's Lisa Salters as he walked down off the stage. He first thanked the Sixers for showing faith in him, but then promised the seven teams who had passed on him that he would make them regret their decision.

It was a bold statement to make, but it was one that was ultimately proved to be true. Ingram today won an NBA championship with Philadelphia and was also named the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player for being the best player in the NBA Finals. He became just the second player in the history of the NBA to win the prestigious award in their rookie season, after Lakers legend Magic Johnson in 1980.

If you had predicted any of this only a couple of months ago you would have been laughed at. Ingram suffered a broken right leg on March 11th after he fell awkwardly whilst attempting to grab a rebound against Indiana. It forced him to miss the final six weeks of the regular season and the opening round of the playoffs against Atlanta. He returned in the conference semi finals against New York, coming off the bench with a minutes restriction and slowly worked his way back to full fitness and confidence. His remarkable recovery spurred the Sixers on to reach their first NBA Finals in fifteen years.

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant arguably had a strong case for winning the award as he was statistically the best player in the Finals by some margin, but it's rare these days that the voting panel give the trophy to a player from the defeated team. Most neutral fans and commentators seemed relatively happy for Ingram to receive the award though.

It's always sad when a legend of the game retires. This year it was Kevin Garnett who departed the NBA after a highly distinguished career. The forty-one year old said that he struggled with this decision, but ultimately his body wouldn't allow him another season and he had no choice but to hang up his boots.

After twenty-two unforgettable seasons in the NBA, Garnett finishes up in the top fifty all-time in all the major statistics. He is 17th in total points (25,684), 9th in total rebounds (14,474), 49th is total assists (5,392), 16th in total steals (1,845) and 19th in total blocks (1,987). Garnett was a perennial all-star, but his greatest individual achievement came in 2004 when he was named the Most Valuable Player. Perhaps his most cherished memory though will be his role in helping the Celtics win the 2008 championship against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Garnett's departure means that only Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol remain from the wonderful class of big men who dominated for over a decade after the turn of the new millennium. We're getting to a point where all the stars from the early 2000's are retiring. Last year we lost Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Steve Nash and Vince Carter. Next year we could lose the likes of Duncan, Nowitzki, Gasol and Manu Ginobili. But that's just the way life works. The old make way for the new, and we have to find new heroes to cheer for.

What an amazing outcome for the Phoenix Suns! They will be picking first in the draft for the first time in their franchise's history. This is also the first time in thirty years that they have actually moved up during the lottery draw. And what a time to do it. This 2017 draft class is widely considered to have three future star players in it; Josh Jackson from Kentucky and Duke pair Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum. With the bounce of a ping pong ball the fortunes of this franchise may have just improved dramatically.

As always, whenever a team rises, there must be a team that falls down the order. The main loser this year was the Dallas Mavericks. They endured a horrific season and finished with the worst record in the NBA, a full five losses worse than the second worst record. Having the second overall pick is certainly not a disaster by any means; especially in this particular draft; but after all the suffering their fans went through they would have loved to have the prestige of being able to pick first on draft night.

Denver landed themselves a top three pick for the second season in a row. It's also the third season in a row that they have a pick within the top seven. They are following the model used so successfully by Oklahoma City and Philadelphia of adding high-end draft prospects in consecutive years to form their team's core. It will be interesting to see which of the "big three" prospects they are left to pair with Emmanuel Mudiay (Pick 7, 2015) and Malik Newman (Pick 2, 2016).

With the first pick of the 2017 NBA draft, the Phoenix Suns select... Josh Jackson from Kansas.

It's an interesting decision by the Suns, although they couldn't really go wrong taking any of the three standout prospects that were available in this draft. It seems as though a wing scorer was their top priority after they traded Devin Booker to Philadelphia on draft day last year. That trade saw them acquire Joel Embiid, Corey Sanders, George Papagiannis. They also received guard Kendall Marshall and big man Tomas Vaughn in that trade but neither of them are still on the roster.

Some people expected them to take Duke forward Harry Giles and pair him up with Embiid. General Manager Ryan McDonough probably felt that Jackson was a better fit though as veteran Ryan Anderson has already formed a solid partnership with Embiid. He was probably thinking that having a star wing player like a LeBron or Kevin Durant was better for his team in today's NBA than having two star big man.

Jackson is a highly skilled player blessed with outstanding athleticism, solid passing ability for his size and a competitive will to win. He averaged 27 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in his only season in Kansas.

NBA Comparison: Tracy McGrady

Fan Opinion: "Awesome! I've been a Suns fan for 25 years and we've never had the first overall pick in that time, so I'm just over the moon that we get to add a future star tonight. I think Jackson is the right choice and I can see him pairing well on offense with Joel Embiid and Brandon Knight."

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Pick 2Dallas Mavericks

Harry Giles - Power Forward - 21 years old - Duke - 211cm - 101kg

With the second pick, the Mavericks take Duke big man Harry Giles. You have to say that this is a brilliant selection for them as they have just landed a long-term replacement for legend Dirk Nowitzki. Giles very much fits the mould of the prototype for modern day NBA big men, just like Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns. He is a tremendous athlete, a great passer and a solid defender.

The main criticism of Giles during his college career has been about his shooting ability. But at least he will have plenty of opportunity to work on it in Dallas though as their roster is severely lacking quality. One potential thing working in his favour is the presence of former Duke point guard Tyus Jones on the team. Jones starred alongside Jahlil Okafor as Duke won the 2015 national championship game and his knowledge of how Giles will play should help the Mavericks in the future.

Perhaps the reason that he didn't go number one is due to his injury history. He had torn his ACL in both knees during his high school career, but it didn't appear to affect him during his college career. He averaged 30 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists per game with national championship-winning Duke team last season.

NBA Comparison: Chris Webber

Fan Opinion: "We haven't had much to cheer about since Dirk left, but right now we're all ecstatic with this news. Giles is gonna be a superstar!"

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Pick 3Denver Nuggets

Jayson Tatum - Small Forward - 21 years old - Duke - 203cm - 93kg

And the Nuggets take Duke wing star Jayson Tatum with the third pick. Tatum is a great fit for Denver's backcourt alongside Emmanuel Mudiay and Malik Newman. They are going to be a serious contender in a few years if that trio can all reach their potential and stay healthy.

Last season was pretty dire for the Nuggets as they finished 14th and only won 25 games. One bright spot for their fans though was the form of number two pick Malik Newman. He led rookies in scoring with 18 points per game and finished second behind Boston's Ben Simmons in the Rookie of the Year award. Some media personalities argued that Newman deserved to win the award as he had been named western conference Rookie of the Month four times during the season.

Tatum averaged 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game as he helped Harry Giles win the 2016 national championship game. He and Newman should get plenty of open shots with Mudiay dishing out assists at a rapid rate. He ranked fifth in the league in assists last season with 9 per game.

NBA Comparison: Grant Hill

Fan Opinion: "Tatum is a beast. Newman, Mudiay and Tatum are gonna lead us to the finals soon!"

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Pick 4Detroit Pistons

Dennis Smith - Point Guard - 20 years old - NC State - 188cm - 86kg

This is a tough spot for Detroit to be in. They already have Reggie Jackson and Brandon Jennings on their roster, and took Jamal Murray with the sixth pick last year. But the best player available is NC State point guard Dennis Smith and they couldn't really pass on him to take a player who would have been a better fit for their team, but who would have had a lower ceiling than Smith. They are unlucky because they had the equal-worst record last season, but fell to the fourth pick in the lottery.

It's not the worst problem in the world to have though. Smith is a great prospect with his combination of electric speed and scoring ability. He is a score-first guard, but he can certainly pass the ball. Smith's height may be an issue in the NBA, but he is actually taller than Chris Paul so his speed and athleticism should help him overcome that disadvantage. He is also someone who tore their ACL in high school and seems to have recovered from it fully.

It's more than likely that Detroit will look to trade one of their four point guards before the season starts in order to balance out their roster.

NBA Comparison: Chris Paul

Fan Opinion: "I'm not sure about this pick. We already had Reggie Jackson and Brandon Jennings and we took Jamal Murray at number six last year, so maybe we're looking at a trade?"

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Pick 5Toronto Raptors

Rawle Alkins - Shooting Guard - 21 years old - Arizona - 193cm - 91kg

The Raptors select Arizona guard Rawle Alkins with the fifth pick. Some people thought that they may have gone with Indian big man Thomas Bryant in order to give Jonas Valanciunas some help, but instead they decided to add a scoring wing instead. Alkins impressed at Arizona with his ability to finish at the rim and create his own shot.

Alkins is also a terrific defender. He uses his strength and lateral quickness to harass ball handlers and is also a great defensive rebounder for his size. At times he has also shown that he can be a competent rim protector due to his leaping ability. His game should translate well into the NBA given that he has a mature body.

Toronto finished 14th out east last season after only winnings 25 games. They had the first pick last year and took Jaylen Brown, then midway through the season traded veteran Kyle Lowry to Utah in exchange for Dante Exum. So they have a good group of young players including Exum, Brown, Alkins, Valanciunas, Norman Powell and Trey Lyles. They will be hoping to push back into the playoff conversation in the next year or two led by DeMar DeRozan.

This is a great spot for the Bucks to be picking and they land a gem in Thomas Bryant. They were always going to be hoping for either Bryant or Dennis Smith as those two filled their biggest needs. As it happens Smith went two picks before they got their shot, but they will still be thrilled to add Bryant to their team.

Bryant's main strengths are his great length, a great motor and his ability to finish around the rim. He is very passionate when on the court and has a big desire to win that made many NBA scouts fall in love with him. Some even went as far as to compare him to Kevin Garnett. Obviously it's way too early for such a comparison, but if Bryant can be even half as good as Garnett the Bucks will be delighted.

Milwaukee have one of the most exciting young rosters in the league which boasts the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton and Skal Labissiere. If Bryant can develop into a dominant big man at NBA level then this team could be a serious contender for a long time. For now though he will be backing up Miles Plumlee as he learns what it takes to be an NBA player.

NBA Comparison: Chris Kaman

Fan Opinion: "Brilliant pick by Hammond. Bryant will be great for us. I'm also glad we didn't reach for someone like Thon Maker this early in the draft."

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Pick 7Minnesota Timberwolves

Buddy Hield - Shooting Guard - 23 years old - Oklahoma - 196cm - 96kg

Minnesota take Oklahoma sharpshooter Buddy Hield with the seventh pick. The twenty-three year old guard is one the dying breed of prospects who completed all four years at college instead of just going the one-and-done route. Maybe it wasn't by choice though as he probably wasn't good enough to be drafted in the lottery in any of the past three drafts. He worked immensely hard to improve though and now he is a lottery pick.

Hield joins a Minnesota team on the rise. A team that suddenly looks pretty stacked on the wings with Andrew Wiggins, Wesley Matthews, Zach LaVine, Antonio Blakeney (Pick 9 from 2016 draft) and now Buddy Hield. Their roster is looking as strong as it has in years with Ricky Rubio and Deron Williams running their offense and the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Mirotic, Nikola Pekovic, Gorgui Dieng and Nemanja Bjelica roaming the paint.

Of course the big news in Minnesota right now is the retirement of legend Kevin Garnett. He had wanted to get the Timberwolves back into the playoffs before he ended his career but unfortunately they could only manage twelfth seed last season and his body didn't have another year in it. He leaves the franchise in good hands though. Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins look set to be superstars in the coming years and will play a massive role for the Timberwolves if they stick around.

NBA Comparison: Brandon Roy

Fan Opinion: "Decent move. I would have preferred Markelle Fultz, but at least Buddy can contribute from day one."

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Pick 8Brooklyn Nets

Markelle Fultz - Point Guard - 21 years old - Maryland - 196cm - 84kg

Brooklyn select six-foot-five combo-guard Markelle Fultz from Maryland with the eighth pick. It's an interesting decision if they envision him playing point guard for them because they already have Aaron Brooks, Jerryd Bayless, Shane Larkin and Brian Roberts on their roster. And you would have to imagine that he won't be starting ahead of JR Smith at shooting guard.

Fultz has the potential to be the best player in this draft class though and you can understand why the Nets couldn't pass on him. He has so many things going in his favour, like his impressive height and length for his position and his immaculate ball-handling ability. He also possesses the ability to score from anywhere on the court. His athleticism and size allow him to the to the rim with ease, but he can also knock down shots from outside with sufficient regularity.

The Nets missed the playoffs last season by a single game and owner Mikhail Prokhorov will be expecting them to do better next season. They don't have much cap space to work with, so perhaps we'll see them make a big trade over the off-season to shake things up.

NBA Comparison: D'Angelo Russell

Fan Opinion: "Wooo! Welcome to Brooklyn Markelle. This guy is gonna be an all-star and lead us to a title one day."

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Pick 9Washington Wizards

Jonathan Jeanne - Center - 21 years old - France - 218cm - 95kg

With the ninth pick the Washington Wizards select French giant Jonathan Jeanne. In a few years people may look back on this selection as being the steal of the draft if Jeanne can develop his offensive skillset and become a genuine two-way player. The Wizards will be hoping he develops into more of a Dikembe Mutombo, than a Hasheem Thabeet.

Jeanne is blessed with freakish physical attributes and abilities. His enormous wingspan allows him to be an elite shot blocker and rim protector. His size makes him extremely difficult for opponents to score over because he can easily block or alter their shots. Another strength of his is his hunger for rebounds at both ends of the court. And somewhat surprisingly he is also an extremely competent ball-handler for someone of his size.

Obviously he is far from the finished product though. Firstly, he has an incredibly lean body and poor lower body strength, so he will no doubt get pushed around by veteran big men early on in his career. But if he can spend a few Summers in the gym and add some more to his offensive repertoire, then the sky is the limit for this kid.

NBA Comparison: Samuel Dalembert

Fan Opinion: "I honestly know nothing about him. I guess we just have to hope he turns out similar to Rudy Gobert."

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Pick 10Denver Nuggets

Grayson Allen - Shooting Guard - 22 years old - Duke - 196cm - 88kg

The Nuggets make it three Duke players in the top ten by selecting shooting guard Grayson Allen with the tenth pick. After taking Jayson Tatum with the third pick it seems that they decided to add another shooter to help bolster their offense. They were one of the lowest scoring teams in the NBA last season.

Allen is a deadly outside shooter like fellow Duke alum JJ Redick. Allen however is much more athletic than Redick ever was and that will allow him to be a more complete scorer at NBA level. He joins an exciting young team where he won't have too much pressure on him. He can let guys like Emmanuel Mudiay, Jayson Tatum and Malik Newman take the double-teams and just get open in the corners for easy three pointers.

This could be bad news for Gary Harris. Last year's number two pick Malik Newman has cemented himself as the starting shooting guard in Denver and with Will Barton contracted for next season and Allen arriving, it may force Harris out. The twenty-three year old has only played four games in the past two seasons for the Nuggets and it seems likely that they will decline his team option for next season now.

NBA Comparison: Courtney Lee

Fan Opinion: "I'm assuming we just went for the best player available here. We already have Malik Newman, after all. I love the pick though."

This was an interesting move by the Bucks. Stephenson only signed with them at the start of last season and had a very good season as the sixth man in Milwaukee. He averaged a career-high 15 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists per game despite the Bucks finishing thirteenth in the eastern conference with only 33 wins. He now finds himself on his fifth team in five seasons and will probably be hoping that he finds some security and stability in Sacramento.

It appears as though Milwaukee completed this trade because they are looking to free up cap room in order to target a big name free agent in the near future. It has been rumoured that they are planning to go after guys like Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry and Dwight Howard. They may struggle to convince any of those guys to join them though, being a small market team. But they do have an exciting young core that may present an attractive story to anyone they try to sign.

Milwaukee used pick 6 to take Indiana center Thomas Bryant and then used pick 13 to select forward Edrice Adebayo. This may suggest that they will be targeting a point guard in free agency.

Sacramento are clearly looking to get off the mediocrity treadmill and return to the halcyon days of the early 2000s. Adding Stephenson gives them a solid youngish-veteran who can lead their second unit alongside Marcus Smart. The Kings actually have a fairly deep guard rotation now as Stephenson joins the likes of CJ McCollum, Jordan Clarkson, Marcus Smart, Isaiah Briscoe, James Young and Tim Quarterman.

The Kings have officially moved on from the DeMarcus Cousins era after shipping him out to Boston just before the trade deadline last season. The bunch of assets that they received from the Celtics in that deal all settled quickly and helped them eventually finish sixth in the western conference with 42 wins. They caused the upset of the playoffs by knocking San Antonio out in the first round after six tightly-contested games. They were eliminated by Golden State in the conference semi finals, but did manage to at least win a game against the 2015 champions.

Now, with their confidence high after those post-season exploits, they are looking to go "all-in" as they feel that they have the talent to compete for a title. Another reason for strengthening their roster is that they are trying to convince star man Rudy Gay to re-sign with them long-term.

This is an excellent move by the Bulls. They now have a highly talented point guard prospect as backup for injury-plagued star Derrick Rose and all it cost them was two late first round picks. That said, Rose has averaged 75 games in the past two seasons, but Murray is definitely an upgrade over veteran Shaun Livingston and rookie Alen Tavcar as leader of the Bulls' second unit.

Chicago now have a good mix of experienced veterans like Rose, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, and young guys like Murray, Bobby Portis and Shabazz Muhammad who can provide energy play off the bench. Murray was the sixth overall pick last season and the Bulls are getting great value in this trade.

Last season they won 51 games and finished fourth in the eastern conference. Things didn't go according to plan in the playoffs though and they were unceremoniously dumped out in the first round against the Knicks in just five games. However, most fans believe that signing a veteran free agent or two could really help them push on and become a legitimate contender next season.

For Detroit, this trade is more about clearing up a logjam at the point guard position after taking Dennis Smith with pick 4 than it is about them being unhappy with Jamal Murray in any way. Clearly they just felt that Smith is a better prospect than Murray and that keeping veterans Reggie Jackson and Brandon Jennings will give them a better shot at improving quicker on the court.

That is the key thing here. The Pistons want to get better after a disastrous 2016-17 season that saw them win only 25 games and finish dead last in the eastern conference. They have star man Andre Drummond locked in for three more seasons, but if they want to keep him happy they can't afford another terrible season. This is perhaps why they to swung for the fences and took mysterious Australian big man Thon Maker with pick 24.

Maker seemingly has the potential to be an all star power forward and if he pans out then he could form a delightfully devastating partnership with Drummond. There are fears that he has a huge bust potential and the Pistons are certainly aware of that risk. They trust their coaching staff and culture to develop him into an NBA-level player though.

The NBA champions make a fairly simple trade, sending some cash to Toronto in order to facilitate a pick swap and move up two spots late in the first round. Apparently Sam Hinkie was impressed with Yurtseven at North Carolina last season and decided to arrange this deal after the Raptors took him with the 28th pick.

This is a pretty solid transaction for the Raptors. They received almost $1 million for a two-pick downgrade and still picked up a promising seven-footer. Clearly adding frontcourt depth was their main priority after they took Rawle Alkins with the 5th pick as they also selected Georgia big man Donnell Conner with the 22nd pick.

It seems as though the Mavericks are already looking to build around number two pick Harry Giles. This trade gives them another bright young prospect and also gives them greater cap flexibility in the future. By swapping Jordan Hill for Kyle O'Quinn, they are basically swapping Hill's long-term contract for the expiring contract of O'Quinn.

Adding Baldwin is a good move by them because last season they relied on thirty-three year old JJ Barea and Tyus Jones to fill-out their point guard rotation. Now they will have two twenty-one year old guards competing to take over from Barea within the next year or so. That competitiveness should be a positive thing for their development. It could be a busy off-season in Dallas, depending on how fast Mark Cuban wants his team to improve.

The Knicks are a team headed in the complete opposite direction to the Mavericks and this trade shows their "win-now" mentality. Star player Carmelo Anthony is thirty-three years old now and will be getting anxious that his championship-winning window is coming to a close. Adding Jordan Hill gives them more frontcourt depth and a good energy guy off the bench.

This deal may have been discussed for some time judging by the fact that the Knicks selection point guard Wade Baldwin with the twenty-third pick, despite already having Rajon Rondo, Jose Calderon and Jerian Grant on their roster. They must have been picking on behalf of Dallas, which is interesting because they could have also taken Kris Dunn or Thon Maker with that pick. Perhaps the Mavericks preferred Baldwin due to him being younger than Dunn and maybe they felt that Maker was unnecessary after they just took Harry Giles with the second pick.

In a move that sent shockwaves around the league, beaten finalists Oklahoma City announced the sign-and-trade acquisition of star forward Blake Griffin from the Los Angeles Clippers. It is understood that the Thunder traded all-star forward Serge Ibaka, point guard Cameron Payne and a 2019 First Round Pick to the Clippers to complete the deal.

Getting Griffin is a massive coup for the 2016 champions. The seven time all-star was reportedly all set to sign a long term extension with the Clippers, but changed his mind earlier this week after superstar point guard Chris Paul decided to leave Los Angeles and join the Milwaukee Bucks. That shock decision left Griffin reconsidering his future in L.A. and ultimately led to him informing the Clippers that he intended to explore his free agency options.

Over the next few days, Griffin and his agent held discussions with at least eight teams; including Boston, Sacramento, Dallas, Phoenix, LA Lakers, Denver, Toronto and Oklahoma City. He allegedly turned down the offers from the Mavericks, Kings and Suns because he wanted to join a contender and turned down the offer from the Lakers because he didn't want to sign for the Clippers' biggest rival. Toronto failed in their bid to sign him because he reportedly didn't want to live in Canada, so far away from his family.

Neither Boston or Denver had the cap room to sign Griffin outright, but both immediately began exploring trade options in order to clear up the necessary space. The Nuggets had a trade for veteran forward Wilson Chandler lined up with an unknown team and were just waiting for a positive signal from Griffin before pulling the trigger on the deal. They saw Griffin as an ideal big man to add to their young core of Jayson Tatum, Emmanuel Mudiay and Malik Newman. Unfortunately, they never got a firm commitment from Griffin though and eventually moved on to other targets.

Boston wanted to create a "big three 3.0" consisting of Griffin, DeMarcus Cousins and Ben Simmons. They were reportedly ready to trade Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger to clear cap room and were in a similar situation to Denver in waiting for Griffin to commit to signing with them before confirming any trades. Boston quietly considered themselves as front-runners to sign him, that was until Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti decided to make an audacious late play to get him.

The Thunder obviously had no cap room to sign Griffin either, with star duo Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook earning a combined $50 million next season and improving big man Steven Adams set for a contract extension. Presti took a bold approach though and was prepared to offer a solid package to the Clippers to get a sign-and-trade deal done for Griffin. He convinced Doc Rivers that his offer of Serge Ibaka and Cameron Payne was the best that he was going to get and that by not trading Griffin to the Thunder, they would be risking losing him for nothing. Having both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin walk for nothing in the same week would have been a disaster for the Clippers.

After the framework of the trade was agreed with the Clippers, Presti then set about convincing Griffin that the Thunder were the right choice for him. Presti sold Blake on the notion that coming back home to Oklahoma would be the best move for him on and off the court. He would be joining a team that is a perennial contender, with stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook being amongst the top five players in the world. Presti pitched to him that the reason the Thunder fell short in the finals against Philadelphia was because they lacked a third star and that if Griffin joined, he could be that guy and help them win multiple titles in the future.

News broke a day after the meeting in Oklahoma City that Griffin had agreed to join the Thunder and it received a massive reaction from all around the NBA. It was the biggest off-season move since LeBron James and Chris Bosh decided to join Dwyane Wade in Miami in 2010. Suddenly there was a team with three genuine stars who were seen as the clear favourites to win the title. A lot of rival fans disliked the move because they felt it hurt the competitiveness of the league, whilst others welcomed it and were excited to see this new super-team play together.

In Oklahoma City itself the news was greeted with an amazing outpouring of happiness and celebration. Nearly 10,000 boisterous Thunder fans showed up a few days later when Griffin was officially introduced as an Oklahoma City player at Chesapeake Energy Arena. After putting pen to paper on his new $102 million four-year contract, Blake spent a solid thirty minutes signing autographs and conversing with fans. It didn't quite have the same level of pageantry that the Heat produced when they introduced their new team in 2010, but it was still an amazing atmosphere.

This new Thunder team is a completely different beast to the "big three" that Boston created in 2007. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were all in their early thirties when they came together, whilst Kevin Durant is 29 and both Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin are 28. All three are locked in for the next four years, so they could conceivably be contending for the next half-dozen years or more. It's hard to imagine that a team that won sixty-three games last season and reached the NBA finals could actually get better, but that is exactly what seems likely to happen.

The Clippers ultimately made the best of a terrible situation and salvaged some nice pieces. Ibaka is locked into a very well-priced deal for the next four seasons and Payne's contract is team-controlled for the next two seasons. The pairing of DeAndre Jordan and Serge Ibaka will give opponents nightmares due to their length and shot-blocking abilities. Youngster Cameron Payne will be thrust into the spotlight of being an NBA starter after two years of being Russell Westbrook's understudy. The former Murray State point guard has learned a lot from Russell in that time and certainly looks ready for the extra responsibility.

With their two star players gone, the expectations of the Clippers' fans will naturally have to decrease by a significant margin. Last season they finished with the fifth seed after winning forty-six games, but then crashed out of the playoffs after a 4-1 loss to Houston in the first round. It's hard to see how they can even reach the playoffs next season with their two main scorers gone. They will need to focus on limiting their opponents scoring in order to give themselves any chance at winning games. At least they have terrific perimeter shooters like JJ Redick, Courtney Lee and Jodie Meeks to place around Jordan and Ibaka though.

It will be interesting to see if they try to build around DeAndre Jordan and Serge Ibaka or if they decide to make drastic changes and enact a full rebuild. Courtney Lee, Ian Mahinmi, Wesley Johnson, Jason Smith and Beno Udrih all have only one year left on their contracts, whilst DeAndre Jordan has a player option after this season. If all of those guys leave and Jordan opts out, the Clippers will have about $40 million in cap room to spend. They could quickly turn things around if they managed to sign someone like James Harden, Paul George or DeMarcus Cousins.

It wouldn't at all be surprising to see Doc Rivers offer max-level contracts to restricted free agents such as Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid or former UCLA player Zach LaVine at the end of next season. The odds that any of those offer sheets aren't immediately matched by their current teams would be extremely slim, but it's worth a try. Perhaps he will target more realistic unrestricted free agents like Avery Bradley, Gordon Hayward, Brook Lopez or Danilo Gallinari in order to improve his team. Replacing Jordan with Lopez would certainly improve their scoring ability a great deal.

Two days after sensationally acquiring Blake Griffin from the LA Clippers, Sam Presti completed another trade. This time it was a three-team deal with Dallas and Philadelphia that saw him dump a bunch of salary in return for some cheap assets. Oklahoma City sent big man Enes Kanter to the Mavericks and guard Dion Waiters to the Sixers. In return the Mavericks sent forward Maurice N'Dour and a 2018 second round pick to the Thunder, whilst the Sixers sent them forward Jerami Grant and a 2018 second round which they had originally acquired from Brooklyn.

With $74 million of the $90 million wage cap taken up by stars Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin, Oklahoma City couldn't really afford to re-sign Steven Adams and also keep Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters. Presti therefore decided to trade the latter two in order to allow the Thunder to be under the luxury tax threshold after they re-sign Adams. He sought out teams with enough cap room to absorb the contracts of Kanter and Waiters and tried to get the best deal he could for them without just straight dumping them for nothing.

Dallas were an obvious candidate with their enormous cap room and desire to build around number two pick Harry Giles. The Mavericks liked the idea of adding Kanter because he fit their new age profile, and because of his scoring and rebounding abilities. They weren't interested in Waiters though because they had already signed free agents KJ McDaniels and Nik Stauskas. So Presti had to find a third team to take Waiters and eventually a phone call to Sam Hinkie got the job done. Both the Mavericks and Sixers were willing to give up a young prospect and a second round pick to get the deal done.

The trade saves the Thunder $22 million this year and nearly $25 million next year, depending on whether or not they re-sign Grant and N'Dour. Now they basically have their three stars and Steven Adams locked in for the next four years, who will have to be surrounded by veterans on cheap contracts. They probably won't have a hard time finding experienced guys who are willing to take a pay-cut in order to compete for a ring.

Dallas will be happy to get a proven scorer and a guy who can take some pressure off of rookie Harry Giles. Owner Mark Cuban has made no secret of the fact that he doesn't want his team to tank and be at the bottom of the league for several years. He wants to add talent now that they have a potential superstar in Giles to build aroung. This off-season has been a mixed bag for them so far as they have added Enes Kanter, Joffrey Lauvergne, KJ McDaniels and Nik Stauskas, but have also lost Chandler Parsons to Atlanta. They'll definitely be better than they were last season though.

This is an interesting move by Philadelphia. Waiters has always been seen as a locker room problem during his career, but maybe Sam Hinkie believes that bringing the Philadelphia native back home will bring out the best in him. It's not a huge risk to take because Waiters will most likely be taking Jerami Grant's role as the third wing used off the bench after Eric Gordon and Andre Iguodala. His two-year contract also fits in well with the Sixers' overall plan. Everything Sam Hinkie is doing with this roster is focused on the 2019 off-season.

2019 is when Jahlil Okafor and Devin Booker will be eligible for contract extensions. The contracts of Eric Bledsoe, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut, Dion Waiters and Devin Harris also all expire in 2019, whilst Eric Gordon has a player option that he can opt out of in 2019 as well. Only Nerlens Noel, Brandon Ingram, Dario Saric and Tony Wroten are signed beyond that point. Bogut, Iguodala and Harris should all be thinking about retirement by 2019, so the Sixers will have the cap room to re-sign Okafor, Booker and probably Bledsoe. Waiters will most likely have to impress the coaching staff over the next two seasons to get an extension.

After all the excitement and media coverage of the Blake Griffin saga, this trade between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans largely went under the radar. The deal sees the Pelicans acquire veteran big men Al Jefferson and Spencer Hawes in exchange for Alexis Ajinca, Ersan Ilyasova and the Pelicans' 2018 first round draft pick.

The number one priority in New Orleans since Anthony Davis was drafted in 2012 has been to surround him with a group of players that are capable of helping him take the team deep into the playoffs each season. They haven't really made any major additions in that time, but perhaps a positive sign for them is the fact that they pushed the reigning champions Oklahoma City to seven games in the first round of the playoffs last season despite missing Davis, who didn't play a minute in the series after breaking his right left a couple of months earlier.

Through adversity they became a tighter unit and gave the Thunder an almighty scare. Ultimately though, their weaknesses were exposed in that series. Without Davis on the court they had barely any low-post scoring and had to rely on Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans. So the addition of a guy like Al Jefferson is a pretty solid move for them as it gives Davis some much needed help both scoring and rebounding the ball. Davis' defensive prowess should make him a good partner for the more offensively-minded Jefferson. They should complement each other quite well.

For Charlotte, there were two main reasons to do this deal. Firstly, dumping Jefferson's big contract in exchange for the expiring contract of Ajinca and the more manageable contract of Ilyasova is a big plus for them. But perhaps more importantly is that with Jefferson gone it gives their young big men like Frank Karminsky, Dragan Bender and Bismack Biyombo the opportunity to take on more responsibility and to develop. The future first round pick is just a bonus, even if it seems likely to fall outside of the lottery.

The Hornets have been quietly putting together a nice looking team over the past few seasons. They have drafted Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Frank Karminsky, Dragan Bender, Bismack Biyombo and Malik Monk; signed Gerald Green and Michael Carter-Williams and traded for Jeremy Lamb. Last season they finished with the sixth seed in the eastern conference after an impressive forty-six-win season. Unfortunately for them, the reward for that excellent regular season was a first round playoff series against the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. Charlotte fought well but were outclassed, eventually losing in five games.

The Philadelphia 76ers today unveiled new home and road uniforms for the upcoming 2017-18 season, as well as an overhauled court design. Sixers general manager and team president Sam Hinkie explained that the new uniform designs were both a celebration of their recent championship success and also a way to pay homage to their last championship winning team from 1983.

The new home uniform is predominately white with tri-colour trim around the collar, armholes and waistband of the shorts. The road uniform is the same as the home one, only with red replacing the white. Both have a very retro feel to them as they are designed to resemble those worn by the 1983 NBA champions.

Sixers legends Julius Erving and Billy Cunningham, who were instrumental in that 1983 championship, were both in attendance at the unveiling and praised the new look. "I really like this idea", Erving told reporters. "To bring the uniforms that we wore back in the day back to life and give them a modern touch is just really cool. Us guys from that era really appreciate this gesture and the respect we're getting from these young guys who ware wearing the colours today. They are doing us proud."

New Court Design

The new court design in the Wells Fargo Center isn't too different from the previous design. The red paint along the edges of the key area have been replaced by the same royal blue that also covers the apron and the full key circle area. The entire look of the court has been brightened and simplified by filling in minimal amount of areas with paint, thus letting the lighter-toned maple wood reflect the arena lights more brightly.

Sam Hinkie explained the decision making behind the new design, "The creative team and I really wanted something that looked simple and clean, but elegant. We went back to the red uniforms, so we felt that having the court be mainly blue and white would be the best use of our other primary team colours. Our goal was to make a visually appealing environment for fans, both at the game and those watching on TV. A place where people would want to visit."

"We're planning on bringing a lot more success to these fans, so it's important to have a beautiful arena", he added with a smile.